Can you handle the economic truth?

Opinion: Why raising minimum wage is bad

A recent letter to the editor writer said it's simple logic that a rise in the minimum wage will give us more money to spend and generate more jobs.

Not so fast! The restaurateur who suddenly has to pay his dishwasher and servers more money will raise the price of your favorite dish to cover those costs. You will be paying more to get your lawn mowed and your driveway shoveled. An increase in the cost to a grocery store owner to have the shelves stocked will be covered by price increases to peanut butter, eggs and Twinkies.

The economic truth is that artificial increases in labor costs always will be met by corresponding increases in prices or by layoffs. Nobody gains in purchasing power or employment, and we're all left with inflated rates.